Facebook. That magical social media site that changed our lives forever. You know it and you love it. And if you’re the smart marketer that we know you are, you’ve even gone ahead and set up your own business page. Heck, you’ve even embraced timeline and have the best cover photo the world has seen.

But wait a minute….now you need Facebook likes. Not just likes, lots of likes…..

So what do you do? Are there rules to this sort of thing? Should you care if there are? Should you just do whatever it takes to get Facebook likes? Here’s the rundown: Yes, there are rules. You won’t find them in Facebook’s terms of use, but they are definitely in that unwritten social rulebook we all have on a shelf in our minds.

And yes, you should care. Otherwise you’re throwing away all the hard work you put in to building your super-awesome page by annoying people. It’s not a good practice to “do whatever it takes” just to collect a bunch of Facebook likes. That’s not only obnoxious, but it muddles up your valuable social media marketing tool with people that have no interest in you or your business. Think quality, not quantity. Got it? Got it.

Now, let us introduce you to a website that knows a thing or two about getting Facebook likes, TheOatmeal.com. (Seriously, they have over 560K on their page). It’s nothing short of hilarious, but that’s not all. It’s got a ton of comics that shine a spotlight on social nuances that make you laugh and say, “Oh it’s funny because it’s sooooo true”. That’s precisely what we were saying when we read their latest comic on How to Get More Likes on Facebook.

Our advice? Don’t request any new Facebook likes until you read the comic! You’ll be giggling at the don’ts and you’ll learn something from the dos. (We certainly did.)

We don’t want to give it all away, but the point that TheOatmeal.com is making is that to get more Facebook likes, you need to “make things that are Likeable”. Sounds over-simplified, but it’s true. The point of social media marketing is to engage your audience and give them something interesting that makes them have a positive experience with your eyecare practice. It doesn’t have to be all “marketing strategy” in the traditional sense. When businesses approach it too seriously, they take the fun out of social media. And nobody likes that.